Diabolik Lovers Versus 3 - Kanato VS Reiji

I don't seem to be able to write short reviews for this... Well I could, if I would summarize most of it as "bloodsucking". Which would be accurate but a bit too short.

DIABOLIK LOVERS ドS吸血CD VERSUS 3 カナトVSレイジ 

Company: Rejet
Based on: Original
Released: 2012.10.24
Official site: http://rejetweb.jp/dialover/versus.html


Diabolik Lovers is a series that leaves you at the mercy of sadistic vampires. The project features drama CD's, radio broadcasts on NicoNico Live, and a PSP game by Otomate. The drama CD's are the first to be released together with the radio broadcasts. Originally there were just 6 drama CDs announced, but Rejet managed to squeeze in 3 more CD releases before the game: Diabolik Lovers Versus, where you are left in the hands of two vampires at the same time.

In the third and final Versus CD we have Kanato (CV: Kaji Yuuki) and Reiji (CV: Konishi Katsuyuki). As those of you who have listened to the rest of the series probably realize, that means they paired the character with the most composed personality, and the one with the most unstable personality of all together. I was still scared of Kanato after his CD, so this was going to be one hell of an adventure.

The story starts with Reiji looking for you. He apparently sent you to find him a book in the school library a few hours ago and you still haven't returned. When he finds you, you are still looking for the book. Someone broke the computer that can be used to search for a book, so you've been trying to find it on your own. Because it can't be helped Reiji says he'll search for it as well.

Which is when you hear a crying voice. You get scared, and Reiji makes this even worse by telling you that a female student once committed suicide in the library, and that her cries can still be heard today. It turns out that it is actually Kanato who is crying, and the first thing he does is yell at you that he isn't a girl...

It turns out that it was Kanato who broke the PC, because he couldn't find a certain book. The book he was looking for is full of black magic, he wants it to turn his Teddy into a puppet (more specifically, one that can move by itself). Reiji tells him that such a book won't be on loan to normal students, but that he knows where it is. You end up following both to where the book is.

Reiji shows Kanato the book, but it is written in a strange language and Kanato can't read it. To force Reiji to read it for him he attacks you in front of him. He whispers to you that this is all Reiji his fault and loses no time sucking your blood. To my surprise Reiji just watches while Kanato bites and cuts you to drink your blood.

After a while though Reiji finally has enough of it, grabs you and destroys the stairs so that Kanato can't follow you. While he acts kind towards you, the fact that you are covered in blood eventually leads to him also starting to drink your blood, despite first saying that he doesn't want to. But in the end he decides that he'll give in to his desires and forcefully drinks your blood.

Kanato finally catches up, going completely hysterical because "you let Reiji drink your blood". He throws an entire bookshelf of top of Reiji (I have no idea how you are spared from the same fate while you were at his side). Still angry at you, Kanato starts drinking your blood again, this time pulling out a silver knife and cutting you with it. Since you are bleeding pretty badly, Kanato decides to cover his Teddy in your blood as well...

Because Kanato is taking his sweet time Reiji manages to get up from under the shelf, and paralyse Kanato with one of his precious poisons from his collection. You were almost unconscious from what Kanato did to you, and Reiji wakes you up by kissing you. He nearly loses control again, and tells you to run while he can still restrain himself. But you stay by his side and tell him that you'll give him your blood. Of course Reiji continues with drinking your blood after that.

When Kanato regains his movement, he simply clings on to you, so in the end both of them drink your blood. As if this wasn't bad enough Kanato also involves the now moving Teddy in this. And this is where the CD fades out... (probably because you've fainted by now).

Compared to the earlier Versus CDs, this one was a lot less eroi. While Ayato and Raito were doing all kinds of things to you, this time they are really only sucking your blood (and in Kanato his case chewing on your fingers). This is also the only one in which they really seem to be fighting over you, at one point actually throwing a few punches.

Throughout the entire CD I was once again scared of Kanato. He switches from concerned to sweet to angry to hysterical within seconds, and once again I have to say that Kaji Yuuki his voice acting here is absolutely amazing.

Kanato his hysterical mood swings almost make Reiji look like a saint and a gentleman, until he loses control of course. Like other people have mentioned before me, Reiji his bloodsucking is far from eroi. It really sounds like he has lost all control and is nearly going insane by drinking your blood. What I find especially interesting though, is that the heroine seems to be hoping for Reiji to save her to some extend, and is noticeably hurt when he tells her he doesn't care about her, only about her blood. But maybe this is just my bias making me interpret things that way.

While I haven't played the game, I have been reading summaries and reviews, and knowing some of the backgrounds adds a lot more painful feelings when listening to this. Kanato his attachment to his Teddy is scary on his own, but when you know what Teddy actually is (or is stuffed with) the fact that he wants it to be able to move even more terrifying. Same goes for the fact that both of them realize that your blood is special, but not why (although I am not entirely sure how much Reiji realizes). When Kanato mentions that he wants to drink blood from your heart, things possibly get even more complicated. If you don't mind spoilers, scroll down to the end of this post to see what I am talking about specifically.

The one thing that really bothered me (ignoring all the weird things that are normal for this series) is that Teddy became able to move by being soaked in your magical blood. I mean, that is simply stretching things. And then Kanato had to go and involve him in the end as well. That was simply too much.




Conclusion:
As always, this is an exhausting CD to listen to. The beginning left me wondering how they were going to switch from the story to bloodsucking, but after that it is still a full hour of being abused attacked by Kanato and Reiji. For those who haven't listened to this series yet, if you want to listen to it please start with the solo CDs first, and probably listen to this one last. You'll need to build up some resistance before you can stomach this, trust me.

Sorry for this incredibly long review (^-^;;)






-SPOILER WARNING-
I know that the heroine in the CDs isn't necessarily Yui (the heroine from the games), but in the games:

- Kanato had a huge mother complex, and Teddy is stuffed with her ashes.
- Before he could burn her body though, her hart was transferred to the heroine. The reason that her blood is special is because she has a vampire heart. The heart of a rather powerful vampire too.
- Reiji mentions that he "considered his mother dead long ago". He is actually the one who hired a vampire hunter to kill her.